Developers of renewable energy projects staged a rally in front of the building of Bulgaria's energy regulator against the recent introduction of higher power grid access fees which would reduce their revenues.
The protesting industry officials said they plan to submit a collective legal claim demanding cancellation of the regulator's decision, and called for the resignation of its chairman, the state-run Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) reported on Monday.
Small energy producers with up to 20 MW capacities are hit hardest by the decision and many of them will go bankrupt, BTA quoted Nikola Gazdov of the Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association as saying.
Last week the energy regulator decided to charge up to 236 levs ($158.3/120.7 euro) per megawatt-hours (MWh) for access to the power grid for completed solar projects as of September 18. Reacting to the decision, renewable power producers said the higher grid access fees would lead to a 10%-40% drop in their revenue.